An excerpt from Alison Sutherland, Quadrennial Project Liaison, on the memories and experiences of those who recently attended the first project tour:

People are working so hard to survive and feed their families. The lack of infrastructure and industry. The hardest thing was to say no when we have so much, and to realize how selfish our own society is.

Experiencing the dust, colours and sounds of village life; seeing the water pumps, thatched houses and the way people live. The dawn drive to Kamakwie through villages and bushland; women watching over a cooking pot on small wood fires; walking to the stream for water, laundry and bathing, or to the farm with pans, utensils or bundles of wood carried on the head; babies secured to their mother’s back with a cloth; meagre verandah market stalls, with a few cassava roots, pineapple or bottles of kerosene for sale; no vehicles for miles on the dust roads.

The grace with which we were received everywhere. Nothing seemed too much trouble. Arrangements were adjusted, dates changed, yet wherever we went, people gave us their time, welcomed us with open arms into their homes and communities.

Read the whole, very moving and exciting story on the SI Programme Blog »

We have received more than 4,300 entries for the Live Your Dream Art Contest from girls and boys throughout the world. A group of professional judges was charged with the challenge of narrowing down the entries to three finalists in each category (K-1, 2-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12). Now, it’s up to you to choose the winner!

Visit LiveYourDreamCampaign.org to vote for your favorites »

Live Your Dream Art Contest

This year, on the first-ever LIVE YOUR DREAM DAY (March 8th, International Women’s Day), Soroptimist is asking you to forgo a simple pleasure (a gourmet coffee, manicure or glass of wine) and donate $5 (more if you can) to Soroptimist’s programs that help women and girls live their dreams. We have a big goal for this fundraiser – $200,000 – but we know we can do it!

Best Wishes,
Alice Wells, SIA President

SI received a report on Feb 13 from one of our SI Representatives to the United Nations – Lois Beilin:

A discussion on Trafficking in Persons was held on February 12 at the UN to put the spotlight on exposing denial and benign neglect. Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, Undersecretary General and UNODC (Office on Drugs and Crime) et al reported on countries that are working to expose, eradicate and prosecute the increasing rate of sexual exploitation, slavery, abduction and recruitment for war, trade in body parts and other crimes.

A summary of the post is available on the SI Programme Blog. Some key points to note from the UN report on Trafficking:

• Data was gathered from 155 countries and is the first global assessment of the scope of human trafficking and what is being done to fight it.
• The number of convictions for human trafficking is increasing. However, there are still many countries that lack the necessary legal instruments or political will.
• The most common form of human trafficking (79%) is sexual exploitation and is predominantly women and girls. The second most common form of human trafficking is forced labour (18%), although this may be a misrepresentation because forced labour is less frequently detected and reported than trafficking for sexual exploitation.
• In 30% of the countries which provided information on the gender of traffickers, women make up the largest proportion of traffickers. In some parts of the world, women trafficking women is the norm having been victimized themselves.
• Worldwide, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children. However, in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children are the majority (up to 100% in parts of West Africa).
• Although trafficking seems to imply people moving across continents, most exploitation takes place close to home. Data show intra-regional and domestic trafficking are the major forms of trafficking in persons.

To increase public awareness of human trafficking and rally the world to fight it, Mr. Costa appointed Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino as a Goodwill Ambassador to Combat Human Trafficking. “We know that Mira’s commitment to the plight of trafficking victims will move people to take action against modern-day slavery”, said the Executive Director of UNODC.

The Global Report on Trafficking in Persons is available online as a PDF file (292 pages) »

Alison, Quadrennial Project Liaison 2007-11, borrowed an electrical socket at a friendly neighbourhood clinic for an hour to check her email before leaving for the airport. She’s had no daytime electricity where they’ve been staying!

She provided a great synopsis of their journey, filled with much heart felt thanks to their hosts. I encourage you all to read her story. One of the moving excerpts really bears witness to the empowerment provided by Project SIerra:

“upsetting scenes of extreme poverty and dire need of families recently joined to the programme and uplifting examples of some who had graduated and were successfully independent – my own group visited a young mother who had been supported to become a vehicle engineer, has joined the army as an engineer and driver – we met her brigade 2-I-C and superior officers who were clearly delighted with her progress and encouraging her. Her story was tragic – raped by rebels during the war, lost all her immediate family; now well on the way to independence and a good career to help her support herself and her child.”

Read the full project-sierra-1st-study-tour-report on the SI Programme Blog »l

On 2 February 2009, 8 Soroptimists from the entire SI world were scheduled to leave Heathrow for the SI Project SIerra Study Tour in Sierra Leone….but…sadly they were stranded in the snow for a few days. We are patiently waiting for stories, which will be posted the moment they arrive- here is [Sandra’s excerpt from the] “pre tour” story to whet your appetite:

“Some information about Sierra Leone: Population – 6,005,250. Land area – 71,620 sq.km (not sure how much that is in corresponding area in Australia) SL emerged from a decade of civil war in 2002 with the help of Britain and a large UN peacekeeping mission. More than 17,000 foregn troops disarmed tens of thousands of rebels and militia fighters.

A lasting feature of the war, which left some 50,000 dead, was the atrocities committed by the rebels, whose trademark was to hack off the hands of their victims. A UN-backed war crimes court has been set up to try those, from both sides, who were involved in the brutalities. The problems of poverty, tribal rivaly and official corruption that caused the war remain. There are 70,000 former combatants who have been disarmed and rehabilitated have swollen the ranks of the young people seeking employment.

SL has the lowest average income in the world and is the worst nation for childbirth in the world having the highest maternal mortality ratio, or risks of maternal death of any country. This is due to obstetric situations such as haemorrhage, obstructed labour, etc, caused by disruption to the health services by the rebellion. Official corruption is rife.

This is a very basic outline of the situation in Sierra Leone. Next time I will be able to tell you more about our partners Hope and Homes for Children and Helo a Needy Child International -HANCI and what we are trying to achieve with SI Project SIerra.“

Read the whole story on the SI Programme blog »

Soroptimist International Quadrennial Project (2007-2011), Project SIerra: a Family and a Future, was launched at Convention in July 2007. The project supports women caring for children in extreme poverty and provides a caring secure family home for children who are alone or at risk of abandonment. The project location is Sierra Leone, West Africa. Our project partner is Hope and Homes for Children. Read more on the Project SIerra website [www.projectsierra.org] »